Peter Devine (9) and Elliot Ziel celebrate after helping the Dutchmen snap an 11-game losing streak last week with their 6-0 win over S. Vermont. Devine had two goals and an assist in the victory.
It has been a rough year for the men's soccer team. After winning the season opener against Mt. St. Mary, 4-0, the Dutchmen lost their next 11 straight games. That slide came to an end last week as the Garnet defeated Southern Vermont, 6-0.
Freshman Peter Devine (Millbury, MA/St. John's) scored twice and assisted on another to increase his team scoring lead to six goals and 14 points. Devine was the UCAA “Rookie of the Week” after his hat trick in the win over Mt. St. Mary. Sophomore Sunhail Syed (Colorado Springs, CO/Cheyenne Mountain) also contributed two goals and an assist to the victory while freshman Dave Walzman (Santa Monica, CA/Crossroads) and sophomore James Samatulski (Trumbull, CT/Trumbull) rounded out the final score.
Union's defense protected netminder Chris Johnson (South Dewit, NY/Manlius Pebble) as the sophomore did not have to make a save while picking up his first career shutout.
The Dutchmen showed their depth and their heart in last week's win over Coast Guard. With several front-line players on the sidelines because of injuries, backups stepped up to fill the void. Senior linebacker John Burth (Sauquoit, NY/N. Hartford), who has been both a starter and a backup this year, came up with 10 total tackles and a pass deflection while reserve cornerback James Weaver (Bronxville, NY/Iona Prep) was in on six tackles, including two tackles for loss (11 yards) and added his first interception of the season (which he returned for 23 yards) and just the second of his career. Four-year starter Devon Wimberly (Albany, NY/Albany Academy) contributed 10 total tackles (including six first hits), a fumble recovery and a pass deflection.
Junior defensive end Josh Stinehour leads the Dutchmen's “Sack Pack” with eight and a half of the team's total of 21. Creech is second with five.
Offensively, junior fullback Paul Del Vecchio (Niskayuna, NY/Colonie) carried the ball six times for 40 yards including his first career touchdown (a one-yard run that gave Union a 14-0 lead). Del Vecchio went into the contest having gained 23 career yards on just eight carries.
Union's defense, which allowed Coast Guard just 80 yards last week, is among the top five in the NCAA with its 185.3 per game average. The Dutchmen's pass efficiency defense is 65.7, ranking it third in the country. Union has given up just two passing touchdowns, one of which was a halfback option. The unit's 74.3 average against the run is among the nation's top 20. The Dutchmen Defenders have held four opponents under 100 yards rushing including two games in which the opposition has been thrown for negative yardage. The pass defense, meanwhile, has also held three opponents under 100 yards.
Junior linebacker Mike Ranfone (Brandford, CT/Hamden Hall) leads the team's tackle chart with 49 total tackles while senior safety Brian Vegliando (Wallkill, NY/Wallkill), who missed last week's game with a thigh injury, is second with 47. Wimberly (45), junior end Josh Stinehour (Rochester, NY/Pennfield) (44) and junior linebacker Mike Rosenthal (Walpole, MA/Blair Academy)–who also missed last week's game-(41) are among 14 Dutchmen who are in double digit tackles.
Stinehour and senior end Brevator Creech (Chico, CA/Chico) continue to lead the “Sack Pack” with eight and a half and five, respectively. Freshman cornerback Dan Mehleisen (Latham, NY/CBA) has three of Union's nine fumble recoveries while junior cornerback Radney Wood (Newport, NY/West Canada) has six of the Dutchmen's 10 interceptions. Wood and Wimberly have combined to knock down 22 passes.
Balance continues to be the key to Union's offensive success.
The Dutchmen gained 329 yards against the Bears last week with 161 coming on the ground and 168 coming through the air. The Garnet is averaging 210.6 yards on the ground (with 11 touchdowns) and 174.6 yards through the air (with 13 touchdowns).
Junior quarterback Ben Gilbert, who is 21-5 as a starter, is on track to become Union's all-time career passer.
Junior quarterback Ben Gilbert (Brattleboro, VT/Brattleboro) has completed 99 of 185 passes (53.5%) for 1,222 yards and 13 touchdowns. He is currently second on Union's all-time career attempt list with 686 (behind Brett Russ '91 who had 1,138 and Dan Stewart '84 who had 835); third on the completion list with 385 (behind Russ, 648 and Stewart's 397); third on the yardage list with 4,881 (behind Russ who had 7,452 and Stewart's 5,547) and third on the touchdown list with 37 (behind Stewart who had 55 and Russ who had 52). Gilbert is also tied for third with his 21 career wins (behind Russ and Stewart, who had 36 and 31, respectively).
Senior wide receiver Bryan Slekes (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) who led the Dutchmen with 40 catches last year and finished second with his 517 yards, is again Gilbert's favorite target withy 23 catches for 299 yards. His five touchdown receptions puts him in line to challenge the single-season standard of eight (held by three players), first set in 1967 and last accomplished in 1983.
Union's rushing game, which is averaging 210.6 yards and ranks among the nation's top 30, is led by the tailback duo of sophomore George Beebe (Salem, NY/Salem) and junior Jasper Mills (Hamden, CT/Hamden Hall). Beebe is averaging 89.6 yards a game and has five rushing touchdowns while Mills, who has carried the ball just 63 times, is averaging 37.6 yards a game with three scores. The pair have combined for 890 of the Dutchmen's 1,474 total yards.
Junior Andrew Ruffo (Conklijn, NY/Susquehanna Valley) continues his bid for All-American honors. Ruffo has converted all 23 of his PAT attempts and 11 of 15 field goal opportunities. He has connected on 11 of 12 three-pointers from 20 to 39 yards and is a perfect five-for-five from between 20 and 29 yards. His 56-point scoring average leads the Dutchmen.
Senior defensive end Brevator Creech has celebrated his first year as a starter by contributing 29 total tackles to a unit that is allowing 185 yards and 13.7 points per game.
The football team, which has won six of its first seven games, remained in the hunt for an NCAA Division III playoff spot with last week's 34-7 victory over Coast Guard. The final three games of the 2000 campaign will make or break the Dutchmen's season as all three contests are on the road against teams that have a combined won-loss record of 17-3.
The journey begins this Saturday as the Dutchmen travel to Oneonta to play 6-1 Hartwick at 1 p.m. Next week Union heads to the University of Rochester to take on the 5-2 Yellowjackets and on November 11, they conclude the regular season at 6-0 Springfield.
Union, which has been to postseason in 12 of the last 17 years, has been to the NCAA event eight times since 1983. However, they have not been to the national championship tournament since 1995.
While the Dutchmen remain in the NCAA playoff hunt with their 6-1 record, the selection committee will surely notice that Union's opponents have a combined record of 14-33 (a winning percentage of .298). Included among the first six opponents is 5-1 Hobart, which defeated Union in Schenectady by the score of 13-12. Take the Statesmen out of the mix and the Dutchmen's six victories have come against teams with a combined record of 9-32 (a winning percentage of .219).
Union has done well against the remaining three opponents. The Dutchmen are 3-0 against Hartwick since the series began in 1997. Union has posted victories of 13-3,30-14 and 34-14, respectively. Against Rochester, the Dutchmen have won eight of the last nine with the only blemish coming in 1998 when the Yellowjackets posted a 26-21 upset.
The Garnet has beaten Springfield, 38-7 and 37-22 since the series was renewed in 1998. Union's victory in 1998, which came at Springfield, cost the Pride their first-ever 10-0-0 campaign.
Sophomore goaltender Carolyn Stead was named the UCAA “Goalie of the Week.” Stead's shutout victory over Vassar in the quarterfinals of the NYSWCAA tournament was her 10th of the year, a new Union record.
Sophomore goaltender Carolyn Stead (Portland, ME/Deering) was named the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association's “Goalie of the Week” after leading the Dutchwomen to their second UCAA championship in the last three years.
Stead, who has played all but 25 minutes this season, established a new Union record with her three-save performance in the Dutchwomen's 1-0 victory over Vassar in the state quarterfinal game. She now has 10 complete game shutouts this year, breaking the single-season record of nine set by Jen Manna 1991. Stead is among the national leaders in save percentage (.907) and goals against average (0.32). Her play has helped the Dutchwomen rank third in the nation in team goals against average (.312) and third in shutout percentage (0.75–12 shutouts in 16 games). The 12 shutouts is also a team single-season record.
Stead has given up just five goals this season and is on her way to breaking the old individual and team standard of 10.
The Dutchwomen have outscored their 16 opponents by a 64-5 margin and enjoy a shot advantage of 327-77.
Sophomore midfielder Laruen Byrne (left) assisted on classmate Abbie West's winning goal as the Dutchwomen opened the defense of their NYSWCAA championship with a 1-0 victory over Vassar on Tuesday. Union advances this weekend's Final Four in Poughkee
Sophomore Lauren Byrne (Northport, NY/Northport) fed classmate Abbie West (Dalton, MA/Wahcoviah) will a pass to the middle of the field and West, who fought off two defenders and then made a strong pivot, fired a shot to the right of Vassar's goaltender as the Dutchwomen opened the defense of their 1999 New York State Women's Collegiate Athletic Association title by defeating the Brewers, 1-0, Tuesday on Garis Field. Union will now meet Hamilton (a 3-2 winner over RIT) in a semi-final game Saturday at 11 a.m. at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie.
The championship is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. with the consolation game scheduled for Sunday at 10 a.m. Both will be held at Vassar.
Byrne, who scored the winning goal in last year's 2-1 overtime victory over St. Lawrence in the 1999 title game (which was also held at Vassar), beat a Brewer defender to the ball at the right sideline and chipped a shot to the middle of the field about 20 yards in front of the goalmouth. West, who was not expected to be at the game because of a death in the family, outfought two Vassar defenders for the ball, turned, and with Brewers hanging all over her, just beat the diving Vassar goalie. The score came with 11:29 left to play.
Union, which outshot Vassar, 24-5, got a three-save performance from sophomore goalie Carolyn Stead (Portland, ME/Deering), who recorded the Dutchwomen's record-setting 12th shutout of the year. The 14-1-1 Dutchwomen have now outscored the opposition by a whopping 64-5 margin.
Union's next opponents, Hamilton, will be looking to avenge an earlier 1-0 loss to the Dutchwomen. The game's only score came on a penalty kick by junior Tonia Deligiannis (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna). The other semi-final game pits Oswego, which beat Rensselaer 3-2, against St. Lawrence, which captured a 3-0 victory over Plattsburgh.
The Dutchwomen, who own a berth in next week's NCAA championship tournament by virtue of their UCAA regular-season championship, will find out on Sunday night who and where they play.
